Tag: Responsible Tourism

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has designated Spanish football legend and World Cup winner Iker Casillas as its special ambassador for responsible tourism. In a virtual ceremony announcing his appointment, the goalkeeper pledged to promote the universal benefits of tourism. The Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization, Zurab Pololikashvili, presented Casillas with a special plaque and thanked him for supporting tourism at a critical time when the sector has taken a hard hit and millions of jobs could be lost. Pololikashvili said: “Sport and tourism foster the best of humanity. They promote the shared values of solidarity, teamwork and excellence. ... Read more

Kerala Tourism has bagged three PATA Golden Awards –  for its Ethnic Restaurant at Kumarakom, Kerala in Women Empowerment Initiative segment and ‘Come Out and Play’ Campaign of Kerala Tourism Travel Advertisement Broadcast Media segment and the website of Kerala Tourism, (www.keralatouirsm.org) adjudged as the best website in Web Site segment in marketing category. The majority of the RT mission beneficiaries are women, many of them are from the local community involved in traditional jobs. Of the 15500 Responsible Tourism Mission units in Kerala, women groups manage 13500 of them. The ethnic food restaurant – Samridhi – run by a ... Read more

Want to escape from the busy schedules of your life and enjoy some peaceful and serene farm experience? Then Thejaswini Eco Farm at Cherupuzha in Kannur district, north of Kerala, should be in your plans when you think about a holiday next time. You will get a chance to have a wonderful farming experience here at Thejaswini where you can stay, witness the farming methods, and purchase farm-fresh produces such as Honey, Nutmeg, Coconut, Neera, Cashew Nut, Coco, Rambutan, Mangostin, Passion Fruit, Mango Fruit, Jackfruit, and so on. Many varieties of honey are produced here in abundance. You can also learn ... Read more

The WTM World Responsible Tourism Awards 2019 have been launched. This year the awards will be of six categories and a panel of expert judges will select the finalists from across the six categories. The overall winners are to be announced at WTM London, on Wednesday 6th November, 2019 as part of WTM World Responsible Tourism Day. This year’s categories are: Best for Benefitting local People Best for Wildlife & Nature Conservation Best for Reducing Plastic Waste Best for Reducing Carbon and Other Greenhouse Gasses Best for Transparent Reporting Best for Coping with Success, dealing with Overtourism “The ambition of the ... Read more

Poovar island As part of expanding its area of operation and to provide the benefits of sustainable tourism to the local people, Kerala’s Responsible Tourism Mission adds Poovar in Thiruvananthapuram District to its list of responsible tourism destinations. Poovar Panchayat President Ajith Kumar MS inaugurated the project at a function held at Geethu International Hotel at Poovar on Sunday. The function was presided over by the Vice President of the Panchayat, Jisthi Maitheen. Inauguration of the Project  Poovar is a picturesque coastal region, where Neyyar River joints the Arabian Sea. It is the south most part of the district, just ... Read more

As part of diversifying the tourism products and to encourage sustainable tourism models, the Responsible Tourism Mission of Kerala is planning a number of innovative concepts in the tourism sector of the state. The objective of the programme is to recompense the loss in the tourism sector due to drop in the number of tourists in the previous year, due to various reasons. As per RT Mission, several community-level tourism activities such as storytelling and cultural sessions will be launched in the month of March. Resource mapping, a process to identify new tourism destinations in the state is being undertaken. ... Read more

Walking tourism is now one of the most popular ways to experience a destination. It allows tourists to better engage with local people, nature and culture. It also help the tourists to maintain their health, while having close connection with the local people, where they travel. A recent report from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) provides examples of walking tourism that can serve as practical references for destinations that want to develop such offerings. Walking tourism can be developed anywhere as a sustainable tourism offer with a relatively small investment. It can bring about social and economic benefits to residents ... Read more

Kochi has immense potential to be developed as a destination for experiential tourism, considering the heritage value of the scenic seaside town known for its vintage looks and multi-ethnic population. It was opined by Kochi MLA K J Maxy during a workshop organized by the Responsible Tourism Mission. Kochi MLA K J Maxy inaugurates the workshop Fort Kochi has already come under the state’s Responsible Tourism (RT) Mission, which is the nodal agency for introducing and implementing sustainable tourism models for the state. “With its distinct demography and socio-historical status, Kochi merits more prominence on the tourism map,” said the ... Read more

Meghalaya government reiterates the importance of Responsible Tourism in the state on the increased tourist footfall in the state during last year. As per reports, inbound tourism has recorded 80 per cent growth in the tourism during the last 10 years – which is a thing to celebrate, at the same time arouse the thoughts on responsible tourism. Dawki River A one-day workshop was organized by Outlook Responsible Tourism in association with the Meghalaya Government to discuss the issues of responsible tourism. Speaking on the occasion, Additional Chief Secretary Rebbeca V Suchiang mentioned the huge footfall of tourists into the ... Read more

Kerala’s tourism model of Responsible Tourism (RT) has been lauded by international expert, stating that RT can take the state to a high rank in the attainment of the globally accepted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. “The most important thing for me is the success of the Responsible Tourism Mission and the way in which local communities have been enabled to earn from tourism as an additional livelihood. Local communities don’t stop what they were doing before but have an additional source of income,” said Harold Goodwin, Founder and Managing Director of the International Center for Responsible Tourism. Professor ... Read more

In light of climate change, mass tourism and other factors impacting destinations around the world, Exo Travel has created a brand new and easy way for agents to choose and book responsible travel experiences and tours through a transparent rating system. You can now make an informed decision on your guests travels that will help leave the lightest footprints and the most positive impacts possible. With its new responsible travel rating system, Exo Travel is providing an important and transparent way for agents to assess, view, filter and select tours and experiences from a responsible travel perspective. When designing holidays ... Read more

Kerala’s Responsible Tourism Mission has been changing the perspective of tourism in the state. The mission’s new venture PEPPER (Participation for Planning and Empowerment through Responsible Tourism), envisages preserving the ecology, while ensuring sustainable development in the village areas. The first phase of PEPPER has kick started in the Peringamala grama panchayat in Thiruvananthapuram district. Foreign tourists trying rubber tapping PEPPER aims at identifying new zones or unexplored destinations which have a huge tourism potential and developing them in a hundred per cent sustainable fashion with the active participation of the local community. The project aims to empower the members ... Read more

Jammu and Kashmir’s Sericulture and Tourism departments are planning to introduce ‘Seri-Tourism’ as a joint venture to promote both the sectors for enhancing the livelihood opportunities, a senior government official has said. Under the first phase, model mulberry gardens of highly improved Japanese mulberry plants would be established at the Jammu Tawi Golf Course (JTGC), Sidhra and the Royal Springs Golf Course (RSGC) in Srinagar during this season, said Secretary, Tourism, Rigzin Samphael at a meeting here on Saturday. The meeting was attended by Director Sericulture Gulzar Ahmad Shabnum, Secretary of the JTGC, Sidhra Hitesh Gupta and other senior officers ... Read more

Kerala Tourism Minister Kadakampally  Surendran and Tourism Secretary Rani George receives the Gold Award Kerala’s Responsible Tourism Mission has bagged Gold Award for Best in Responsible Tourism in the world. The award was received by Kerala Tourism Minister Kadakampally  Surendran and Tourism Secretary Rani George at the venue of World Travel Market, London on 6th October 2018. Launched in October 2017, the RT Mission is envisaged with a ‘triple-bottom-line’ mission, which comprises economic, social and environmental responsibilities. Making tourism a tool for the development of village and local communities, eradicating poverty and giving emphasis to women empowerment are the main ... Read more

Foreign tourist tries rubber tapping “It is time to focus on responsible tourism development in north Malabar” said V. Thulasidas, Managing Director, Kannur International Airport Ltd. (KIAL). “Tourism potential of the region still remains untapped” he added.  Thulasidas was speaking on inauguration function of the three-day international conference on ‘Augmenting tourism infrastructure, assurance of quality standards in tourism services and opportunities in the context of sustainable tourism in India’. The event was organised by the Department of Economics of the Central University of Kerala at Neeleswaram in Kasaragod on Tuesday.  Thulasidas said money spent on tourism development would generate much ... Read more